Funny Scenes From the Movie the Campaign
Good satire of politics.
Warning: Spoilers
The Campaign is a good satire of politics. The Campaign shows why the public has lost faith in the USA political process. The satire of the movie shows how candidates do not answer questions, but skirt issues and use generic themes like freedom etc. The Campaign shows there is no discussion of the issues and the two candidates deteriorate the campaign into the Springer show. One has sex with the other's wife as a campaign ad. The Campaign shows that the special interests run both parties, which is the reason why there is no real debate, and interest in what is good for the community. The film is funny but has some low ball comedy on Religion, sex, and people. I give The Campaign a seven out of ten.
15 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Crude and stupid....and most enjoyable.
"The Campaign" is not a film to show your kids, your mother or Father O'Malley if he stops by for the evening. Why? Because the film is incredibly crude and despite no nudity and only a little bit of violence (such as when a baby and Uggie the dog are punched in the face), it earns its R rating because it is so crude. All that being said, it is still a very enjoyable film...and worth seeing. Just don't tell others, because they might think less of you.
The film is about a fictional congressional election between a dumb, sleazy womanizing incumbent (Will Ferrell) and a dumb, not as sleazy and very effeminate newbie (Zach Galifianakis). As the campaign progresses, the rhetoric between the pair becomes more and more sleazy and awful...to the point where it's simply ludicrous late in the story. Who will win and what about those rich jerks pulling the strings in this election?
As I mentioned above, the film is very crude and adult....watch it at your own risk. But it also is funny and offers some interesting insights into American politics.
7 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Ribald, funny, merciless fun at the expense of politicians and politics
Warning: Spoilers
A very, very funny movie that's very, very coarse. If you are not amused by jokes about sex, body parts and bodily functions, effeminate men, scantily-clad women, politics, and politicians then this isn't your movie. If you like that sort of thing, then you need to see this movie now. Light, fluffy entertainment. No thinking required (or desired). Good guys win. Bad guys either lose or are redeemed. I run hot and cold on Will Farrel movies. This one's a keeper for him but the real star of this movie is Zach Galifianakis who seems to replicate Jack Black's character in "Bernie" but with a completely different take. This movie will make you feel better about what's coming to American politics in the next three months.
33 out of 42 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A Decent Comedy! Ferrell & Galifianakis deliver Superbly!
Jay Roach's 'The Campaign' is A Decent Comedy, that offers genuine laughs in the goings-on. And, Ferrell & Galifianakis deliver Superbly!
'The Campaign' Synopsis: In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins, director of the local Tourism Center.
'The Campaign' is undeniably funny, I laughed & enjoyed myself. The film serves its purpose. Chris Henchy & Shawn Harwell's Screenplay is funny & crisp. Jay Raoch's Direction is satisfactory. Cinematography & Editing are alright.
Ferrell & Galifianakis are up for vie top honors. The Comedic Veterans are hilarious in their respective parts & go head to head from start to end. Among the supporting cast, Jason Sudeikis is first-rate. Brian Cox, John Lithgow & Dan Aykroyd are excellent.
On the whole, 'The Campaign' works.
12 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The Campaign Heads Southward **
Warning: Spoilers
Dirty politics? No, it's just a poor take-off on political campaigns, where generalities are often over-stated so as to get the public to vote for you.
In this inane farce, Congressman Will Ferrell, faces a challenge from a dim-witted, or supposed dim-witted guy in a North Carolina district. The film really doesn't say much about North Carolina.
How dirty can these two guys really get? Mud-slinging becomes nothing when Ferrell has relations with the opposition's wife.
The one saving grace is that finally we get a solid campaign issue-outsourcing of jobs and having China virtually take over this district.
Truth is always the best tactic in running any campaign, but the truth here is that the picture is just bad.
4 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Very Funny and a Perfect Match,
The Campaign is a hilarious movie with a very clever storyline and a very talented and comedic cast that do a terrific job.When I first heard that Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis did a movie together,I had to see it,but then I heard it was disappointing so I delayed seeing.I decided to rent it,and I didn't see what the problem was,I though the movie was hilarious,there was a few misses but very few,and similar to Step Brothers and the Hangover,it has so much lines that are very quotable,also the two actors worked really well together.I really enjoyed Dylan McDermott,Sarah Baker,Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow,the casting for each character was all very well suited.If your a fan of both Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis comedies you will definitely love the Campaign.
Long running congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) finally gets some competition from Marty Huggins (Zach Galifanakis),a man who may take over his career.They start a serious campaign against each other.
8 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Not too bad - a decent parody of US politics
Cam Brady (played by Will Ferrell) is a veteran politician and congressman. However, the power-brokers/people with the money in his party decide that he is a liability to the party and find another candidate to run against him, Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis). The campaign is going to be a dirty one...
Not too bad. Has some very funny lines and scenes and does parody American politics quite well. However, it does get mired in empty sentimentality and sub-plots that go nowhere. Plus, neither of the contenders are likable, leaving no "hero" to support.
Good performance from Will Ferrell. Zach Galifianakis' character was particularly irritating, but hard to fault the performance too much. Good support from Jason Sudeikis and Dylan McDermott, plus from John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Brian Cox in minor roles.
5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
One of the most memorable comedies of '012
Just when you thought the Obama/Romney election was the dirtiest off all time, in walks Jay Roach's The Campaign, a sly and unassuming venture into the world of politics, weaving satire and sweetness in for welcomed entertainment. Not long ago, I watched Andrew Fleming's Dick, a clever satire on Richard Nixon's presidency and how two dim-witted teenage girls managed to uncover the Watergate scandal and beat him at his own game. The Campaign doesn't exceed those heights in surprises and observantly funny comedy, but it will provide most moviegoers with sufficient weekend entertainment. And in downtimes like the ones currently upon us, we should try and seek out those films.
The plot concerns Democratic Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) of North Carolina's fourteenth district, who is running for a fifth term unopposed. His numbers, however, are currently down after he leaves a vulgar voice message on a local family's phone about his recent sexual encounter and his affair with a supporter. In the meantime, corrupt business brothers, Glen (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd) convince local naive tour guide Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), who is loved by pretty much every person he runs into, to challenge Brady as the Republican candidate so that they can make illegal money off of a Chinese company. Marty agrees and Brady now has a race on his hands.
We then venture into the obligatory mud-slinging each side does and how their views have shaped their person overall. One of the most interesting subtle side characters I've seen in a long time is Jason Sudeikis's Mitch, Brady's "yes man" for everything, while Huggins is mainly coached by the pushy, uncompromising Tim Wattley, played viciously by Dylan McDermott.
When the mud-slinging goes underway, the jokes become hit or miss. Some instances stretch incredulity to unprecedented lengths, but I believe the reason behind it is to say something. Look where we've been in the political world in the last few years; the Clinton scandal, Obama's birth certificate, and if you want to get even more specific; the Anthony Weiner scandal which everyone loved to talk about a year ago, but now, it takes a minute for the name to ring a bell. Controversies have now been about anything and everything, and with that in mind, The Campaign doesn't seem so incredulous.
On another note, it's a shame the film doesn't dive into some true satire heights by taking shots at both Republicans and Democrats alike. It seems that if you are going to make a comedy centered around politics in the year 2012, you should try to take some shots at both political parties and go as far as you possibly can, but The Campaign's centrist view on the entire issue and the bigger picture is a bit underwhelming. Certainly both parties are flawed and equally arbitrary on the basis of their own terms and that alone could've inspired a film that was equal parts satire and relevant humor.
Regardless, this is certainly a better Ferrell-vehicle than Casa De Mi Padre or Old School several years back. I too feel people who aren't prepared to subject themselves to The Dictator's completely juvenile and limitless standards will seek this out as a means of easy-going fun. Ferrell immerses himself into the role of a goofy southerner effortlessly, and his fake accent is actually charming and tolerable throughout the film (perhaps I'm still grieving from Adam Sandler's in That's My Boy). Galifianakis perfectly suits his role, as well, and distinctively reminds me of Jack Black's Bernie Tiede in the tragically unseen comedy Bernie. This is a fun, tolerable comedy that doesn't rely too heavily on raunch and four letter words. A bit too much on animal abuse, but still mostly pleasing.
Starring: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Katherine LaNasa, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, and Brian Cox. Directed by: Jay Roach.
5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A simple comedy that does its job.
After reading many reviews, i have to agree that this is a technically a bad film. The humor in this movie is very raw and crude (which doesn't bother me), and it has a very simple storyline. I was ready to give this movie a rating of a 5 or below until i stopped looking into the movie too much, and saw it for what it is. The purpose of a comedy is to make people laugh, and that is exactly what myself and the rest of the theater did for the majority of the movie. The movie is so relevant as well with the upcoming presidential elections, and i feel this movie helps take the edge of the brutality of the current Obama vs. Romney.
If you just want to see a simple movie that will make you laugh without having to think about the plot, then see the movie.
73 out of 110 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An enjoyable comedy
This film is about a race between two congressman candidates in North Carolina.
"The Campaign" is a fun and light hearted mockery of modern American politics, but it is also surprisingly real in terms of what could possibly happen in a real election campaign. The plot is funny and really gets me laughing, but I am the most impressed by the emotional ending that conveys a victory to morality. Another thing that really stands out is the Asian maid who speaks with an amazing African and also Spanish accent.
I enjoyed watching this film!
9 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Black Comedy.
Warning: Spoilers
It's hard to evaluate a film like this because its -- well, its variance is so great. Did I laugh out loud at some of the gags? Yes. Did I wince at others? You bet.
What's more, this isn't really a movie about mud slinging during a campaign but it's more than that, almost a satire of American political values, or American values in general. When you ridicule the electoral process of the nation, you ridicule everyone who participates in it. And when you ridicule everyone, you ridicule the society that they've formed.
Will Ferrell, who made me chuckle here for the first time, is a four-time Representative from a congressional district in North Carolina, comfortable in his numb, dumb skin. He speaks in platitudes and does all the other things that congressman are presumed to do. He's funded by, and compliant to the wishes of, John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd, the "Motch brothers." The Motch brothers are quite a pair. They'll stop at nothing to advance their interests. They've already implemented the first part of their plan. They've bought up a tremendous amount of acreage in a rural area and then sold it to the Chinese at an enormous profit. Next, they will cooperate with the Chinese in building a large red factory, once Ferrell gets those nettlesome EPA regulations out of the way, and bring in Chinese workers at fifty cents an hour. They will call it "insourcing." That's a pretty clever fantasy, and there are more gags like it. Ferrell's opponent is Zach Galifianakis, a naive Southrin schlub who manages to collect all the documents needed to run against Ferrell, who is a shoe-in.
What follows may not be what you'd expect. The contest between the idealistic schlub and the arrogant professional politician doesn't gradually devolve into mud slinging. As in real life, it BEGINS with dirt. Ferrell's campaign runs an attack ad showing a photo-shopped picture of Saddam Hussein with mustache, black beret, shades, and uniform. As the voice-over lambastes Galifianakis, the items are whipped away from the image, one by one, until Galifianakis' face appears. They have the mustache in common, as the voice-over points out.
When his candidacy is about to be taken seriously, Galifianakis queries his wife and two children over the dinner table. They are going to receive intense scrutiny from the media and he wants to know if there are any secrets they've been hiding, any skeletons in their closets that might damage his campaign. Their initial innocent confessions grow into the most abhorrent abominations.
But then there is a certain amount of silliness, not so much in the dialog but in the slapstick scenes, such as the one in which a desperate Ferrell is courting the vote of a snake-handling cult and is bitten by a rattlesnake. The psychedelic effects aren't amusing, but a later glimpse of his forearm, purple and swollen to the size of Popeye's, is.
The happy ending seems grafted on to a much more effective story. The writers and director should have gone the "Dr. Strangelove" route and lived with the consequences of what they've already demonstrated. It also seems rushed at time, but it's still pretty amusing.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The Campaign (2012) - He Just Punched a Baby!
Two comedic favorites Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis finally share the screen together in "The Campaign". Although being casted in their usual and cliché roles; Ferrell as a competitive mindless idiot that's considered the best at everything, and Galifanakis as a weird, but likable sweater vest-wearing dork; these two still share a decent chemistry in a movie that's although not a perfect comedy as you'd expect it to be, it's still a pretty decent comedy, that consistently hits the funny bone, sometimes in the right places. Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a presidential candidate that has never lost a single campaign in his life, and is now running for the fifth term. But then, out of the blue, to actually give Brady some competition, Galifanakis' Marty Huggins is volunteered to run for Congress. It then leads into one of the deadliest campaigns ever seen on the face of the earth. Although "The Campaign" doesn't reach the level of complete comedic gold, director Jay Roach was able to bring in some consistent funny moments that are more worthy of a giggle, rather than "bursting to tears" kind of laughs. I was really expecting more from Will Ferrell, who seems to be tiring in his cliché role, and I felt that it was really hard to feel sympathy for this character, because he's the only un-likable person throughout. I guess I had more sympathy for Galifanakis' character, because not only was he funny, but he was also the only person that I actually cared about. But aside from the two male leads, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, and Brian Cox round up the supporting cast, most of them delivering some decent enough performances. I say most of them, because Dylan McDermott's contribution as Marty's campaign manager seemed wasted in the role, and didn't really steal the scenes as everyone said he would. I honestly think that this guy wasn't really that funny. Although half of the jokes sadly fall flat, the other half is filled with one hilarious scene after the next. From the scene with Marty Huggin's family at the dinner table, to Cam accidentally punching a baby at a campaign party. This proves that there are scenes that help save this movie from being a bad one. Although at it's noticeable flaws, "The Campaign" is still a decent and pretty funny movie that has a clear perspective on what it was trying to be. "The Campaign", in my review, "laughable and enjoying, but hardly anything special".
21 out of 39 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A Nutshell Review: The Campaign
With the US Presidential Elections gaining traction and going into its final leg before the polls in November, it's probably natural that a comedy about American politics gets released into the cinemas to capitalize on election fever, as well as to lampoon the various strategies, and poke fun on the candidates who would be more than inclined to say the darnedest things that don't make too much sense, or to behave in a hypocritical manner, all of which are fodder to be made fun of.
Directed by Jay Roach, who is no stranger to those who enjoy the trilogy of Austin Powers films, The Campaign put two current funny men together, and watch them explode as they rib each other to shreds as part of the political hustings to garner more votes by discrediting the other. It's never more than just to share one's plans for the electorate when elected, or to reveal and convince them of one's programs, but to take the more interesting approach to character assassinate, and utilize the power of the media, and one's carefully built persona as perception for the voting public.
Comedy aside, this film lays down very real issues and problems with politics anywhere around the world, and that is more worrying, whether the right people are shunning serving the community, and the wrong people with the wrong motives seeking office instead, so as to further the reserves in their coffers, or that of their supporters with the tacit understanding that the interests of those who had backed one's campaign should be looked on favourably, with any meeting conducted to discuss these terms deemed never having been convened. Corporations are also seen as shady organizations when they contribute to campaign funds, and in truth with money talking these days, can make or hurt politicians chances by playing up or down their capabilities or screw ups. It's been some time seeing Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow on screen, and here they play unscrupulous businessmen who are looking at in- sourcing and exploitation of cheap labour, selling out their state/country once they have their preferred candidate occupy office.
As you would have learnt from the trailer, The Campaign pits Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as two politicians getting at each others throats from the get go. For the former, as Democratic incumbent Cam Brady, unopposed for the most parts of his career given walkovers, his seeking office probably had to do with the satiation of his sexual desires, with a major boo boo involving a dirty message left on someone else's answering machine doing him in. As for Galifianakos' Marty Huggins, he got plucked out of obscurity just because he happens to be the son of a well known, but retired politician, and got thrust into the limelight having sold the idea of doing his father proud, and to lend a hand doing something worthwhile for society.
So it's a fight that's filled with plenty of dirty tricks, mostly centered around character assassination from both camps in tit for tat fashion, providing ammunition for its comedic scenes. The gloves are off in a no holds barred, winner takes all competition that has absolutely no rules, with either side eager to jump on discrediting the opposition camp. And the campaign managers, played by Jason Sudeikis and Dylan McDermott who belong to the Cam Brady and Marty Huggins camps respectively, are hugely responsible for that. The last film seen with campaign managers playing a big part is in George Clooney's Ides of March, with almost the same level of seriousness and intensity seen in The Campaign, especially Dylan McDermott's Tim Wattley who has to build Marty's popularity from scratch, and create a credible candidate out of a dim wit.
For those who appreciate the other Jay Roach comedies, expect the usual toilet humour, and plenty of f-bombs creeping their way into the film. Will Ferrell is also at his element here as the politician who cannot stand losing, blessed with a trophy family, and his pairing with Galifianakis proved to be successful, especially during scenes which they share and have to go one up against the other. Galifianakis continues in his usual roles as none too bright characters having a ball of a time, and here his story arc provided for a little bit of a melodrama, which I thought was a nice touch and a break from the comedy, serving as reminder that family matters, and should take priority rather than being shelved aside for ambition. Or worse, to pretend to lead a lifestyle just because it has the consensus of the majority.
The Campaign runs at a very light 85 minutes, although it did feel a little longer than that, especially in the final few scenes that dwelled into back stories built up to provide a little bit more character motivation and common history. Still, it's entertaining, funny for the most parts, and relevant, and if we don't have much power to change the rot at the polls, the least we can do is to laugh at it. Which is certainly more fun by the way.
6 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Hopefully viewers who are fence sitters or leaning to the right might learn some valuable lessons from the film (one can hope).
'THE CAMPAIGN': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis combine forces for this political satire attempting to throw some comedic commentary at audiences this election season. Ferrell plays a North Carolina congressman running for his 5th term unopposed when two corrupt businessmen try to unseat him by pitting him against a naive tourism director who always had dreams of a career in politics, played by Galifianakis. The film was directed by Jay Roach (director of all three 'AUSTIN POWERS' films and the first two of the 'MEET THE PARENTS' franchise) and written by Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell (one of the writers of the TV series 'EASTBOUND & DOWN'). It was produced by Ferrell, Roach, Galifianakis and Adam McKay and co-stars Jason Sudeikis, Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow, Brian Cox and Dylan McDermott. The film is funny for the most part and does have some on target political commentary. Not as classic as some of Ferrell's greatest comedies but one of his better ones for sure.
Ferrell plays Democratic Congressman Cam Brady, who as the film opens is getting ready to secure his fifth term in North Carolina's 14th District unopposed. A sex scandal hurts his popularity though and two greedy businessmen named Glen (Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Aykroyd) see an opportunity to unseat him and put a naive tourism director, named Marty Huggins (Zak Galifianakis), in his place to do their bidding for them (which involves illegal business with Chinese corporations). What starts out as a friendly campaign duel turns in to a heated battle very quickly with all the name calling and ugly accusations you'd expect from a big time political election. This causes havoc on both the men's private lives including heavy drama with their families.
The movie's jokes are somewhat hit-and-miss but for the most part work. They're vulgar but not overly dumbed down; neither Ferrell nor Galifianakis ever break character or overact (like what often happens in comedy satires like these). The film is of course supposed to be funny and lighthearted but the messages of the story are very serious and clear. The Motch brothers are obviously an intended diss at corrupt businessmen Charles and David Kotch (who Galiafanakis recently annoyed by calling creepy). Hopefully viewers who are fence sitters or leaning to the right might learn some valuable lessons from the film (one can hope). This is where the film's greatest strengths lie but it is pretty funny as well.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2vhN3UBteY
8 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The dark art of politics
It is election year in the United States where the President, the whole of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate stand for election. American politics is notorious for being very bitter and negative: so it seems like a fair target for a comedy.
Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is a four term Democratic representative of the 14th district of North Carolina, based around the city of Hampton. He is running unopposed for the seat but he is in trouble after he accidentally leaves a sexually explicit message on a born-again Christian family's answering machine. His backers, the industrialists the Motch brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) decides that Cam is a dud and set out to find a someone to run against him. They find the nice, but naïve and weird Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) to run as a Republican. The campaign quickly descends into false accusations, personal attacks and physical violence. But the Motch brothers have their own dastardly plan for Hampton.
The Campaign is a hit and miss comedy, but it is mostly hit. Ferrell is the best comic performer out of the pair but both comic leads have their moments. The jokes vary from verbal, crude and swearing based, Ferrell's trademarked adlibbing and physical: the biggest laugh in the audience I was in was when the baby got punched in the face. As a political satire this is a film that lacks subtly, but to anyone who is interested in American politics you can easily see the references to negative campaigning, making false accusations that someone is a communist/socialist or an Islamic terrorist just through implication, how candidates just use any rhetoric to get elected without actually having any ideas or policies and how political campaign teams think more about image then they do about doing what they think is best for the district and the country. I personally thought the film missed a trick because I think the filmmakers should not have mentioned the political parties the candidates represented and so you could not tell them apart.
The Campaign runs at a brisk 85 minutes, but near the end the film felt like it running out of steam, both story and jokes wise, near the end. The writing was not smart enough when it could have been more ambitious with its satire.
It is still an enjoyable enough film for people who are fans of Will Ferrell and it is at least worth a rental.
10 out of 20 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The votes are in and hilarious wins the Campaign
Both Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis have proved numerous times that they are comedy gold with the right project. Both of them have also been a part of some clunkers even if they were still able to make it work. Their latest film brings these two comedy giants together for The Campaign. Will Ferrell proved himself in this kind of role with his numerous turns as George Bush, but can Galifianakis bring a new character to the table to knock this one out of the park or will the polls close early?
The Campaign follows a long-term congressman who makes a high profile mistake prior to an upcoming election. Looking to get more influence in office, two wealthy business owners see this as their opportunity to get someone in office they can control. Enter the director of a local tourism center who is clearly the most unlikely choice, but with the help of a cut throat campaign manager gives him a run for his money like no other. The trailers for this film looked amusing, but really never delivered anything more than average. Hopefully this will not deter people from checking this movie out because it is way funnier than the trailer lets on. This is easiest one of the funniest movies to come along this year and probably the best of these two guys in quite a while. They pull no punches with this over the top political comedy that not only delivers on the laughs but takes jabs at the current state of politics. It could be reading too much into it, gut if you look closely you can see them taking this time to really poke fun at almost every aspect of government office and their scandals. The only real issue with this movie is the ending as it kind of takes an about face from the rest of the movie. While it doesn't ruing any of the comedy gold that the movie delivers throughout, it just seemed like it took an unlikely direction from where it was heading.
This movie is funny as hell and delivers that one two punch that is missing in most comedies today. It's been too long since we got a good political comedy and this one not only fills that void it takes it above and beyond. If you're a fan of either of them or raunchy funny over the top comedy then get to the poles quick and check this movie out.
http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-dallas/bobby-blakey
10 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The Campaign...2.5 out of 4 Skittles
t seems like it should be easy to make a funny movie about the state of our political climate….rich, greedy, corrupt people spending millions of dollars to make television ads that spread blatant lies to the uninformed voting public, but The Campaign ends up feeling a bit underwhelming of what could have been.
Screenwriters Chris Henchy & Shawn Harwell only scratched the surface of the real life hilarity of the current political landscape. All they had to do was turn on any TV news channel and take note of the circus that current politics have become…from former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to Weiner-Gate to…well…Sarah Palin, but for Chris Henchy, the writer of past stinkers Land of the Lost and The Other Guys, I guess that is what should be expected.
Will Ferrell (Step Brothers, Anchorman) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Due Date) make a fine comedic duo, but their one-note characters leave these candidates without much to say. Ferrell ends up doing a less funny version of his George W. Bush impersonation. His iconic character was a slam-dunk on short SNL skits, but runs thin in a feature film.
The Campaign definitely provides its share of laughs that keep this film above average, but doesn't live up to other classic films produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez production company…I.E. Step Brothers, Anchorman, Talladega Nights. The Campaign may end up being one of the most profitable comedies of the 2012 blockbuster season, but compared against the other duds Hollywood barfed out this summer (The Watch, That's My Boy, The Dictator) that isn't saying too much.
For more quick reviews check out www.FilmStallion.com
26 out of 50 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Gets my vote.
Warning: Spoilers
"The Campaign" unlike many politicians delivers what it promises. It's a comedy and it delivers laughs. It's a tight 85 minutes. The language may be too rough so don't take your mom.
The leads are good together and the supporting cast including the "well knowns" is a pleasant surprise. Even the dogs are funny. While the trailers showed the set-up there is plenty of new material in the movie.
It will not make classic satire status but it does entertain. There's a brief scene during the credits, but no out-takes that must be somewhere and must be funny; perhaps they will be added to the DVD release.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Deeply Funny Political Satire!
Now I'm not the one for politics and in fact, I despise politics on a whole. However, I found "The Campaign" to be a wildly funny affair. There is plenty of over-the-top humor here to satisfy comedy fans and of course the big laughs here involves a certain conversation around a dinner table as well as a baby. As a political movie, the film plays it pretty safe as both the Left and the Right are only moderately poked at.
Jay Roach, known for his brilliant work with Austin Powers and Meet the Fockers, returns to direct this film. Cam Brady has been a North Carolina congressman for several terms now and is on the verge of securing another term. But, he ends up running against a Marty Huggins, who happens to be the candidate no one expects to be running for office.
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are both very funny here and they seem to feed off each other's energy. This is Ferrell's funniest film since Step Brothers and he just has scene after scene with end up as laugh riots. Galifinakis is really good too despite being somewhat type-casted. But the golden moments are when these two are on screen, going at it with each other.
Overall, this is a really funny film and funnier than I anticipated. I tend to avoid political films, but since this film has no agenda rather than to poke fun at politics, I was all for this. My fear was that the trailer gave many points away, but be prepared for some unexpected jokes. This is a very funny movie. I rate this film 9/10.
4 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
The Will and Zach show
Incumbent congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) runs afoul of the billionaire Motch brothers (John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd). They decide to recruit Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) to run against him.
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis team up for a satire of a political campaign. This is all about the two comedians. At times, they have their funny moments. However, I must admit that I am growing tired of Will Ferrell's antics. I think it's time for him to do more serious work. Maybe it's time for him to do an evil character. His man-child persona is getting stale. Zach Galifianakis is not as over exposed or as long running. His man-child performance is still fresh and that's basically what we have here. They both act childish. Zach is more idiotic. There's no real insight into the political system. So enjoy the few jokes and I hope you didn't pay too much for them.
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Funny
I gave it an 8 just because it's so politically incorrect. Any movie that can pull off this kind of comedy is always good in my book. Will not be the funniest flick you've seen but it is entertaining.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Downright unfunny.
I'm not sure where to start. I'll go back to the beginning. One fine Thursday night I was settling down to watch Ted on the big screen, when on came a trailer for The Campaign. I chuckled a few times and was confident that further hilarity would ensue in the actual feature. All signs were promising. All signs were wrong, dead wrong. This crude political satire is neither witty nor biting, but most awful of all, it's downright unfunny. In what gets earmarked as 2012's biggest disappointment (so far), the potentially side-splitting combination of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis is yawn-inducing at best, cringe-worthy at worst; neither comedian walking away with a solitary laugh. Of all people it's Dylan McDermott that gets a couple of amusing moments, his shady and ruthless campaign manager a welcome respite from the embarrassing blandness of the leads and other co-stars John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Brian Cox. The campaign slogan for Galifianakis' bumbling Marty Huggins sums this film up most accurately: "It's a mess".
17 out of 40 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Diverse Comedy, Same Old Ferrell and Zach G.
If action isn't your cup of tea, then chances are you chose the comedy film that came out this weekend entitled The Campaign. In case you haven't heard about this film, it's essentially two unlikely candidates Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) running for the North Carolina Delicate position. With the ballads cast, the two Carolinians decide to go at each other's throats until only one man is left standing. Who will be the winner? Is there any other plot to this already pathetic plot? Should you care to see it in theaters? Read on to find out.
So if you think the plot sounds familiar, you'd be right as this is essentially what every election is about in this modern age. Warner Bros. decided to make fun of current day political campaigns by adding the two, for lack of a better word, eccentric actors to poke, prod, and utterly slap politicians in the face. Ferrell in particular seemed to have been chosen for mirroring the corrupt, egotistical, self-involved side of the politicians, as he had his eyes on one thing winning. To no surprise, he did a nice job playing the jackass once more, capturing every detail to the letter as if it were his natural self. Fans of the former SNL star's overacting will once again be laughing their heads in every scene with Ferrell as he talks like Ricky Bobby, gives his wide eye stare like Elf, and makes some pretty perverted jokes that cross the lines. I'll admit now I didn't find him that funny, but that's because his material has grown stale on me for some time now and I just don't care for him. Regardless, Ferrell will keep his devoted fans pleased with his naïve stupid character and his irrational, though sometimes funny, political strikes.
Instead the candidate I found to be more humorous was Galifianakis. The Hangover star still has a natural tendency to make people laugh and this film is no different. His character mimics the eager politician who goes in for the right reasons, but succumbs to the "outside" factors that supposedly have no influence on politics. Regardless Zach's ability to play awkward characters really shines in this movie, as Mr. Huggins is indeed awkward. The innocence of Marty is childlike and seeing him approach more adult situations put him in some interesting situations that were rather funny to watch. His reactions to his campaign manager's constant demands involve many goofy faces, random catch phrases, and some well delivered cursing that had me in stitches. What might be even more satisfying is the rivalry between Ferrell and Galifianakis has a lot of dreamed up antics come true. I won't reveal who gets the better of whom, but if you have distaste for any one of these actors, well you'll see them take a few hits now and then. Even Marty's family opens up some ground for laughs, but it's really only one scene that kind of does a rapid introduction to Marty.
However there is a shock factor to this movie that I did not see coming. I'll warn you now that a lot of scenes were edited in the trailer that was not as audience friendly in the theater. Many simple insults and teenager terminology was replaced with more vulgar comments, some of which were not needed. A few of the acts of violence were also more extreme in the actual movie and while they were funny at times, there were times where this kind of humor overstepped some boundaries. There were even some intense romance scenes were also a little awkward to see as well, especially a rather dirty message to an unsuspecting family, which is funny on the situation, but not on the words. Those with high boundaries though, will probably be unfazed on a lot of these things though, especially if you like movies like "The Change Up and Horrible Bosses.
What else can I say about The Campaign? Well surprisingly for a comedy, there were some good messages built into the movie. Although the team was mainly humiliating many politicians, they also managed to open a lot of people's eyes to the deals made in the background. Seeing this corruption fuel the race may make one a little angry, but do not worry because in a comedy there are lots of good things that come from introducing this corruption. The production team also did a nice job on portraying the two character's families and how they can be a hindrance or a blessing depending on the character's morals. Again there are more laughs to be had, but it's nice to see a comedy where the characters have some other character trait than extreme horniness. Who knows, maybe the politicians who come and see this film will actually see the light and do something with their jobs. Morals aside though, this comedy did a decent job integrating some media tools to help increase their joke variety. I may have laughed more at some of the media jargon and lingo than I did at either character, but that's just me.
Despite my initial doubts and judgments, the Campaign wasn't that bad. While Ferrell didn't impress me, Galifianakis managed to get me laughing a lot. Throw in the insults to the American politicians, the exaggerated stunts, intense rivalry, and characters with morals and you get a decent comedy. Is it comedy of the year like people are saying? Not really, and I think this movie is best saved for a rainy day and Netflix. Again be warned that some of the scenes have been severely altered from the trailer, so if you are planning on taking your younger kids take that into consideration. My scores for this movie are the following Comedy: 7.0-7.5 Movie Overall: 6.0-6.5
5 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An Amazingly Solid Political Comedy
The Campaign marches its way into the midterm election season with tremendous laughter, sweetness and enough Will Ferrel zaniness to hold audiences over for the triumphant return of Ron Burgundy in 2013. Here, Will Ferrel and crew manage to make a political comedy that actually has a sense of humor. Meaning, it pulls punches at both parties, rather than it being a liberal love fest. When I first heard of this movie, I expected it to be more of the same. Jay Roach is notorious for making left leaning political bio-dramas like "Recount" and "Game Changer". Will Ferrel is known to be an outspoken liberal democrat. Zach Galifinakis is one too, remember the Mel Gibson debacle on Hangover Part II? But these three Hollywood big shots step over the party line and make a fun movie that satires the very thing that we as Americans should all laugh at, the campaign system. We all know the phoniness of campaign ads and political mudslinging. The Campaign puts these issues right in its place. Now the movie itself is hilarious. Its the Adam McKay/Will Ferrel formula at its finest. From the minute the film opens till the very last minute, you will be falling out of your seats with laughter. I haven't had more fun at the movies this year than with The Campaign.
8 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Good, if not great
A decent comedy featuring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as two men running for Congressman of a South Carolina district. Ferrell is the incumbent, a Democrat who is at first running unopposed, but when he is exposed as a sex fiend, two powerful industrialists (Dan Akroyd and John Lithgow, playing the Motch Brothers, parodying the notorious Koch Brothers, who have stupidly bitched about the movie in the media) decide to throw a bunch of money at a Republican opponent. The only person they can find is Zach Galifianakis, a goofy guy with a very normal family and a couple of pugs with which he's obsessed. Things get nasty pretty quickly as Ferrell spies his opponent's weaknesses, and the Motch Brothers respond in kind by sending an evil campaign runner (Dylan McDermott) to groom Galifianakis in dirty politics. This film starts off pretty well, with some huge laughs (particularly the scene where Galifianakis' family admits all the dirty secrets they've been hiding from him), but after a while it kind of fades. It's always pretty funny, but it's almost never hilarious in the latter half. It seems to want to be a biting satire, but it's really not saying anything truly daring, so that never gets off the ground. Ferrell and Galifianakis both give very good performances, but about the only other actor to score any laughs is McDermott. Jason Sudeikis plays Will Ferrell's campaign runner, but has little to do. Lithgow and Akroyd seem like a waste, too, and one wonders why they bothered to hire Brian Cox as Galifianakis' dad (he does have one good scene near the beginning. I did like Karen Maruyama as Cox's Asian maid, whom he pays $50 a day extra to talk like an old-timey black woman. And Sarah Baker is pretty good as Galifianakis' wife. All in all, I did like the film, but I could have waited for video.
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790886/reviews
0 Response to "Funny Scenes From the Movie the Campaign"
Post a Comment